Bodies lying on Eastern Cape mortuary floor

A man who visited the mortuary recently to collect a body said he was traumatised, South Coast Herald reported.

“I work in a mortuary and have never seen anything like this in my life. It is shocking and disgusting,” he said.

“I was told to drive to the back. When I got there, I saw several bodies lying on the floor. Some had obviously undergone postmortems as the stitches were clearly visible. None of the bodies were covered, and they were not even placed on stretchers,” he added.

Another visitor who went to collect the body of a family member was appalled by what he witnessed.

“At first I was shown the body through a window and asked to confirm if it was the correct one. I was then asked to wait while the postmortem was done,” he explained.

Mortuary manager Zakhile Flaks said the bodies that were on the floor were awaiting collection by family.

“We cannot put a body back in the drawers once the postmortem has been done. I cannot say this is disrespectful because when we collect the deceased person we take the body from the floor, so we are not doing anything that’s unusual,” he said.

In November, the Rob Ferreira Hospital in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, was on the brink of collapse following the shocking discovery of decomposing bodies in the corridors when its staff members downed tools.

Striking staff members reportedly closed all entrances and exits to and from the hospital while preventing ambulances from bringing in patients who required emergency care.

Covered with a sheet, and flies hovering around them, the smell of the bodies was said to be overwhelming, with pus and blood dripping from them.

Read more:

Strike cripples Rob Ferreira Hospital (video)

– Caxton News Service